S&W 1905 Pre-Victory Revolver

[dustyman]

I have a S&W 1905 4th change revolver. It has a 5 inch barrel.Itr is blue and is marked United States Property on top strap. Ordinance bomb and P. WB also on butt plate along with Lanyard ring on butt plate, and Serial 903XXX. Serial number also under barrel. Grips are Victory style plain wood.
I know it is a Pre-victory and it is in 38 S&W caliber as marked on barrel. There are no proof marks or marks indicating it was shipped overseas.
What do I have??? It doesn't appear to have been shipped to the British. The condition is what would be expected of a revolver this age. 70 % tight and an excellent shooter.

 

[opoefc]

The Brits did not proof any of the Lend Lease guns, like yours, so no markings on any of them that were not sold surplus after WW2 to British gun dealers. If that was the case, then the gun was proofed before it could be sold commercially in Britain. Not all Pre-Victory Models went to the British. Some went to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. markings on those guns can vary also, depending on when they became surplus or were repaired or restored by military arsenals in those countries. Your serial number is in the range of other similar guns sent to Britain early in WW2. Ed

 

[dustyman]

1905 S&W Pre-victory revolver.

Thanks for the info but, Didn't the Brits make theirs into 38-200?? This is definitely 38 s&w.

 

[DWalt]

Thanks for the info but, Didn't the Brits make theirs into 38-200?? This is definitely 38 s&w.

A quick clarification for you. The official British service revolver cartridge of the WWII era WAS the .38 S&W. They called it the .380 Revolver Mk1 or Mk2 cartridge. The Mk1 used a 200 grain lead bullet. The Mk2 had a 178 grain FMJ bullet. The .38 S&W, the .380 Mk1, and the .380 Mk2 are interchangeable, but not strictly identical.

The BSR in question is a S&W M&P chambered in .38 S&W, often called the .38/200 or the K-200. The same revolver made for use by U. S. military forces was chambered for .38 S&W Special cartridges. The .38 S&W and .38 S&W Special cartridges are not interchangeable. After mid-1941, both the S&W BSRs and most U. S. military handguns were given U. S. property stampings.

In the postwar years, enormous quantities of BSRs were butchered by rechambering, refinishing, and chopping barrel lengths to improve marketability in the USA. Most BSRs have no markings other than U. S. property stampings. When sold off in the 1950s and 1960s, BSRs were proofed, and given proof house stampings.